Shadows
by NorthernStar
Summary: A moment in Time in Hazzard County... Pre series. Warning: Crossover with Dr Who.


Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters here and they are borrowed without permission, but with the greatest respect, and not for personal gain.

Rating: PG

Summary: A moment in Time in Hazzard County…

Warning: Crossover fic – DoH/Dr Who. Also should warn you, it's weird.

Notes: This came out of a migraine headache and a few lines from Kiss Me, by Sixpence None the Richer, which got stuck in my head during it. ("_Swing, swing, swing the spinning step"_ and "_Kiss me down by the broken tree house, Swing me upon its hanging tire."_) Because of that, it's a little…odd. I wasn't even going to post it, but…here it is.

**Shadows**

The sky was ever blue. The man watched the strangers on his land - a tall and narrow young man in the long coat who stood in shadows of a knurled tree watching his companion and a young woman who paddled in the shallows of the pond, cooling her aching feet.

She was laughing.

He was not.

And the shadows around him… They came from more than the tangled branches swaying over his head. Or was that just a trick of the light?

The man turned back to his toil, working the dry fields that spread as far as the eye could see. The ground beneath his feet was dust, as were so many of the fields in Hazzard now. The land so parched that even the mud around the pond had begun to crack like broken china. They had taken as much water from there as they dared and the wells were so low now...

If the rains didn't come, it would be hard winter for his kin, his brothers and their children. Joe was even talking of taking Sarah and little Bo to Atlanta and he could tell from the sadness in his brother's eyes that this time, it wasn't just idle speculation. He meant it.

And if he left, David would be sure to follow with his own family.

And saying goodbye to Luke and Bo would break Lavinia's heart.

He had almost finished when he heard a voice behind him.

"April."

The man spun around, startled.

The stranger stood behind him, hands in his pockets. He hadn't heard or seen him approach.

"April," he repeated, scanning the bright sky. "It'll come in April. Rain, that is."

His accent was flat.

"God willin'." The man agreed.

There was a trace of a smile on the stranger's lips.

"Don't get many English folks in these parts."

"Oh, we're just passing through." He looked back over at his friend. The girl paddling in the water waved back. "I hope you don't mind."

"Us Duke's don't have much, but this land. You's welcome ta use it." He told him as he picked up his tools. "Mind ta close the gates, though."

"Of course. Thank you…?"

The man turned. "Jesse Duke."

---

They spent the day laying in the sun, watching the birds sail through the cloudless sky, backs against the grass. They talked and laughed and the rest of the universe seemed so very far away.

And when the sun set, they began their long dusty trek back to the TARDIS, cutting once again through the Duke's land.

They stopped a while to watch the night birds swooping in silhouette. Rose found a tyre hanging from a large tree and climbed on. She giggled as the Doctor spun her round, blonde hair glinting in the twilight.

---

The boy woke to darkness and the sound of far off voices.

He wasn't afraid.

He took his bear and padded out into the house. His mother always left a lantern burning on the porch, welcoming to visitors and letting in just enough light so that if her small son would wake, he wouldn't fear the blackness.

The laughter came again and the boy went out onto the porch, head tilted to listen.

He carefully negotiated down the porch steps, almost slipping once, but grabbing the railing just in time. The jolt knocked something behind him, but he didn't see what it was.

Then he began across the baked ground, small bare feet leaving prints in the dust.

The bear dropped from his fingers as he walked, unnoticed.

And on the porch, oil began to seep from the knocked over lantern and the flame burned a little brighter.

---

Rose was in the process of coaxing the Doctor onto the swing, pulling him by the arms, hands in his, when she saw his features change. He was looking beyond her.

She turned.

A figure stood watching them. It was a small blonde haired child, no more than two years old, in white rabbit covered pyjamas. He looked to Rose like a mini version of the Doctor just after his regeneration.

The Doctor went over to him and he stared up at the Time Lord with wide blue eyes.

Rose knelt down in front of him.

"Hello." She said.

He glanced at her then back up to watch the Doctor again.

"He must have wandered from the house." She decided.

The Doctor didn't reply. He knelt down too and gently lifted the boy's chin, as if he were searching for something in the child's eyes.

"I wonder what his name is."

"Bo." The Doctor picked the child up and stood. He started towards the house. "His name is Bo."

Rose frowned after him. "How do you know?"

"It's sewn on his pyjamas."

"Oh."

They walked quickly and the child rested his head on the Doctor's shoulder, blond curls falling like a curtain. He was asleep in moments, lulled perhaps by the sound to two heartbeats instead of one.

Light caught Rose's eye and for a moment she thought someone was awake in the old farmhouse, probably panicking over the missing boy. But then she saw the glow had spread to the roof, orange and yellow and…

Smoke.

She grabbed the Doctor's arm and pointed.

"Doctor!"

His expression grew dark and he looked down at the boy he held.

In the distance, there was yelling. Neighbours sounding the alarm.

Rose had started to run towards the house but stopped when she realised he wasn't with her.

"Doctor!"

He was still watching the child sleep and at Rose's call, he was spurred into action.

But not towards the house.

Instead he began scanning the ground, testing the winds, the movement of shadows. When he found a good place, sheltered but not hidden, he gently lay the child down. On a whim, he reached into his pocket and took something out. He placed it in the child's hand.

He stood. "It's time to go."

Shocked, Rose protested. "Go? That's a fire. We have to help them!"

The Time Lord looked down at the sleeping child. "We already have."

She looked at the house, uncertainly. Then back at the child.

And then, decision made, she shook her head and broke into a run. Right into the fire, if she had too.

"Rose!" With his long legs, he caught her easily. "It's too late." He told her sadly.

"You don't know that." But she wasn't sure if that were true.

He pulled her to him, her cheek pressing against his arm. From her place in the warmth of him, she could see the blond head of the child, curled up in the safe hollow.

"This isn't a fight." He murmured. "It's natural. The path of events."

"Meant to be?" She pulled back from him. "No, no, I don't believe that." She snapped. "_Nothing_ is meant to be!"

"There are rules." He told her softly. And he'd broken too many for her already.

"What rules? That boy lives and his parents don't?" She demanded angrily. But she already knew the answer. Had learned it that terrible day at the Church, when her father had run willing to his own death for her.

"Yes."

Tears filled her eyes. "But…"

He held out his hand.

Rose looked back at the house. She could see the flames now, licking along the roof and stabbing up at the sky.

The Doctor's fingers waggled.

He waited.

"Trust me."

And she did.

---

The house continued to burn.

And in the shadows, the boy dreamed.

**---End---**

Ducks head Sorry!


End file.
